Litespeed Antares

Price Paid:  $1350.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
long smooth hills

Bike Setup:
out of box with campy parts

Summary:
Primarily a Mtnbiker, and this is my first road ride. After a lot of looking around this bike is just killer for the price. Campy components, great ride. And the more i ride it, the more i fall in love with it.

Strengths:
fast, light, campy, compact frame, great great buy

Weaknesses:
i wonder about the intergrity of the paint job on the frame. On another of the litespeed alum. road bikes (the atlas) we noticed the paint chipping off the dropouts. And 2002 was the first year litespeed did these alum. bikes, so i guess there isn't much experience over time to work those sorts of things out. Frame scratches easily. Saddle isn't all too comfortable. will upgrade soon.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Sheepshead Cyles Bro

Favorite Ride:
Nyack and back

Bike Setup:
Full Ultegra, Ksyrium elites, 3t stem, salsa bars.

Summary:
This is my first road bike. I shopped around for many months, and considered many brands like Trek, Lemond, Jamis, Cervelo, Cannondale, Bianchi, Masi. I am very pleased with this bike. I don't agree with the other reviews that give the immpression this is a mediocre bike. This is a great ride. Very confortable for alumminum, the carbon stays help out a lot. Climbs great and handles like a dream.

Strengths:
Great handling, very fast out of the box, climbs great feels smooth. Very nice paint job, very light weight. Makes me want to keep riding instead of heading home!

Weaknesses:
None so far.

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale, Bianchi, Trek, Fuji.

Price Paid:  $2000.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Air Force Academy

Bike Setup:
My Antares is set up full Ultegra with ksyrium Elite wheels

Summary:
This is a great bike! The problem I have is more with Litespeed's approach at marketing their Aluminum bikes. These bikes are out sourced from Taiwan. The problem that I have is the fact that, as a consumer throwing down $2,000, I should be able to make an informed decision about my purchase. No where in their catalog or on the bike is this fact made known, and they are only covering these bikes with a three year warranty. I would expect better from Litespeed.

Strengths:
The bike performs very well!

Weaknesses:
A three year warenty from Litespeed on these bikes makes me a bit concernd about long term quality of these bikes. If they don't have more confidence. Why should I? Most Bike makers offer lifetime warranties(Trek, Cannondale, Klein, even Schwinn)!

Similar Products Used:
I am formost a Mt. biker. I have owned Treks, Cannondales, Kleins, and 3 Litespeeds.

Price Paid:  $1225.00 at eBay

Favorite Ride:
long, flat roads, big hills, twisty descents

Summary:
After hopping from website to website for a solid three weeks, I actually found one of these for sale with only eight minutes to go, and was mysteriously the high bidder. The first ride, though short...was an enlightening one, I headed for the biggest hills I could find. This frame climbs very well, allowing me to climb my favorite, very steep hill in the big ring. This bike screams down the hills, handling very well. I felt 100% confident in this bike's handling characterists....just love the way it carves the turns.

Strengths:
excellent design, paint and features. Comes with a full Campy group (my first ride on campy, ever) very light (16.8 lbs) really just a dream machine if you have always wanted a Litespeed, but didn't have the bucks to buy one. Seat is even more comfy than my Selle Italia on my other bike. All name brand parts on this bike, good spec.

Weaknesses:
The only thing that I will change is the 3TTT Morphe handlebar, the bar is shaped so that it swoops back toward you on the brake hoods, and is too wide and too short on the drops to be enjoyable. Campy is too expensive for upgrades. Not sure of whether I want to keep the Campy parts or pull the Ultegra gruppo off of my last bike.

Similar Products Used:
started out on a $300 Trek aluminum bike, went to a full carbon Specialized Epic, then to a reynolds steel KHS Flite800, which I really like, also. As much as I like the ride of 853 steel, I'm always

Price Paid:  $1450.00 at Bikesmart.com

Favorite Ride:
Last Gasp

Bike Setup:
Stock. Campy Centaur, Proton wheels,Selle TI saddle, Hutch carbon comp tires. I havn't changed a thi

Summary:
I am a recreational/fitness rider,riding 100-150 miles per week at this time of year.I bought the small frame [I am 5'7" tall].The fit is good,the ride smooth & fast,steering is quick,[point & shoot compact geometry],climbs like a monkey.Have ridden 3 50+ mile rides so far;& although it's not as comfortable as my cyclocross bike,it's lighter & faster.The small frame,with it's sloping top tube will fit riders 5'4" tall to 5'7" with the saddle set back.

Strengths:
Great parts spec,nice paint job,vibration damping fork & stays; love the Hutchinson rubber.Best bike I could find for the money.I now believe the hype about compact frames climbing better.

Weaknesses:
Litespeed could have spec'd a lighter seatpost.The suggested retail price is too high.

Similar Products Used:
Specialized Epic carbon frame road bike,older steel road bikes,Bianchi cyclocross w/carbon fork & LX/105 mix groupo.I have been riding road bikes for 30 years.